The prime minister, Anthony Albanese , has confirmed next month’s federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts as he criticised the “populist” campaign calling for a levy on producers. As reported last week , Albanese was poised to reject pressure to introduce a 25% tax on gas exports amid concerns the intervention could alienate the same Asian trading partners Australia is relying on for supplies of diesel and petrol. In a speech to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia on Wednesday, the prime minister directly tied gas exports to Australia’s fuel security amid the global energy crisis. “And the middle of a global fuel crisis is the worst possible time to jeopardise these partnerships, or the investment that underpins them,” he said.…